New MoveOn Commissioned Poll Finds Close Race for U.S. Senate in Texas, Support for Progressive Foreign Policy

Ted Cruz is working for the clampdown in Washington but a new Tulchin Research poll conducted for MoveOn Political Action finds that Congressman Beto O’Rourke has made significant inroads with voters back in Texas. Our poll finds the Republican incumbent leading by just four percentage points, with 49% of voters choosing Cruz while 45% choose O’Rourke. The new survey research also found voters more likely to support a candidate with progressive views on foreign policy, with over 75% believing that the President should obtain Congressional authorization when using military force, and 54% of voters ranking as a priority the reallocation of “some of the Pentagon’s budget to invest in domestic programs like Social Security and health care.” The statewide survey, conducted by Tulchin Research, polled 600 likely voters in Texas and contains a 4 percent margin of error.

“The U.S. Senate race in Texas is extremely close, and though Beto still trails a bit, there’s a big opportunity in the coming weeks for his campaign to pull ahead,” said Ben Tulchin, President of Tulchin Research. “By continuing to contrast his reliance on ordinary people against Cruz’s coziness with moneyed special interests, Beto can win over key undecided voters and some whose support for Cruz is soft. Our research found that one way Beto could win over these key demographics is by tapping into voters’ progressive inclinations on foreign policy issues, especially as they relate to domestic issues like health care and Social Security.”

“For too long, progressives have been afraid to say the wrong thing when it comes to foreign policy issues,” said Iram Ali, campaign director at MoveOn. “We’ve accepted that the way to win is for Democrats to minimize disagreement with Republicans on war and diplomacy––or worse, adopt Republican policies. This research needs to be a wake-up call: even in states people don’t think of as progressive bastions, voters have naturally progressive instincts on foreign policy issues, and it would serve Democrats well to tap into them.”

For the full polling memo, click here.

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